Weasley Christmases
by Scribe Teradia
Summary: A series of drabble-ish snapshots about Weasley Christmases. Beginning with Molly and Arthur's first Christmas and continuing through each of the children's first holiday.
1. 1969

**Disclaimer:** Not mine. Just having some fun with the characters.

**Author's Note:** Originally written for The OWL (On-line Wizarding Library) House Cup 2009, for the Christmas season.

**Weasley Christmases**

by Scribe Teradia

**1969 - Molly & Arthur**

The puddings were burned.

She'd wanted everything to be perfect, but it was all wrong; a series of disasters leading up to the catastrophe that was (at least to Molly's way of thinking) the 'ruined' Christmas dinner.

By the time Arthur's parents arrived, she was weeping into her apron, her distraught husband at a complete loss as to what might be wrong with his normally down-to-earth bride.

When Cedrella Weasley ordered the men out of the kitchen, Molly braced herself for a lecture about how she'd failed as a wife and housekeeper.

Instead, Cedrella confided in a whisper, "I burned my first puddings, too."


	2. 1970

**Disclaimer:** Still not mine. Just having some fun with the characters.

**1970 - Bill**

William Arthur Weasley was a terror, but the crowd of family presently gathered around him was blissfully unaware of this fact. With his cap of coppery ginger hair and bright blue eyes, he was already every inch a Weasley even though he wasn't a full month old yet.

Her brothers teased her about having a child so soon after moving out of their newlywed flat and into a house, but it was her mother who read the exhaustion in Molly's eyes.

"Go lie down, dear."

"But-" Molly protested. There was so much she meant to add, how it was Christmas, how the whole family had assembled, how it simply felt _wrong_to abandon her child, even with a well-meaning family member.

"Consider it my Christmas present to you: a nap without worry." Her mother's gentle words cut off the protests before Molly could get started. "Besides, I had your brothers to deal with before you came along, remember? We'll be just fine."

Put that way, Molly could find nothing more to argue with, and later thanked her mother for the much-needed rest.


	3. 1972

**Disclaimer:**Not mine. Just having some fun with the characters.

**1972 - Charlie**

With a toddler underfoot and a newly-arrived infant, most of the family understood when Molly begged off hosting the holidays at the Burrow. Arthur's newly-married elder brother, Bilius, was quick to volunteer, but Molly was unsurprised when the wife Floo-called on Christmas Eve to cancel (although she couldn't help remarking to Arthur later that it was terribly rude to cancel last-minute, because it was).

Arthur seemed perfectly content to have a few quiet days at home with his wife and children, and Molly was grateful for his skill at keeping the boys entertained while she whipped up a small-scale version of her usual Christmas feast. It was the first year she managed the pudding without singeing it, which was well worth celebrating.

When it came time to open presents, however, Molly's cheer faltered. Among the gifts from Fabian was a mobile for baby Charlie, which might have almost been sensible if not for the fact that it featured miniature toy dragons, enchanted to look as though they were flying and spouting fire. Her second son was all of two weeks old, but the way his eyes followed the brightly-colored creatures was all the sign Molly needed to know that he would be every bit as much of a handful as Bill.


	4. 1976

**Disclaimer:** Do I really still need a disclaimer? We all know they aren't mine.

**1976 - Percy**

Compared to Bill and Charlie, Percy was an angel. By the time Christmas came, he was four months old, and was already much better behaved than either of his older brothers. He rarely fussed or clamored for attention, and it was a welcome relief to settle in her rocking chair with the quiet boy after a day of trying to keep her older sons out of trouble.

It was Great-Aunt Muriel who pointed out that the boy's behavior wasn't at all Weasley-like. "Has the makings of a politician, that one," she sniffed, watching the way Percy seemed to look down on his brothers for rolling around on the floor and behaving like 'hooligans' (Muriel's word, not Molly's).

"Auntie Muriel, he can't even talk yet," Molly protested, thinking it was far too early to be pronouncing such judgments.

"He's biding his time. You'll be lucky if he doesn't turn up Slytherin, Molly."

By next Christmas, Percy was walking and talking, months earlier than either of his brothers had managed, almost as if he had something to prove.


	5. 1978

**Disclaimer:** Still not mine.

**1978 - Fred & George**

The twins' first Christmas was a hard one for Molly, and not just because she now had five small boys to care for. Her brothers were dead, killed earlier in the year, and she was finding it harder to maintain a cheerful and supportive disposition against the rising tide of darkness.

Fred and George had arrived on the first of April, and by Christmas were old enough that Molly had already caught a glimpse of their mischievous natures. There were times when she was strongly reminded of her brothers, particularly on that Christmas when she watched them laughing at some antic of Bill's.

As dark as the world around them was becoming, she held on to the hope that everything would turn out all right as long as they remained together.


	6. 1980

**Disclaimer:** Not mine, etc.

**1980 - Ron**

Molly had always prided herself on not playing favorites among her boys, but sometimes she just couldn't help but coddle Ron more than the others. He'd come early, and they'd nearly lost him, and she had nightmares for months afterward wherein she'd wake up to find him not breathing.

By Christmas, the nightmares had mostly stopped, but the extra attention hadn't, and she just hoped that her older sons would be able to forgive her for spending so much time with her youngest. Bill and Charlie didn't seem to mind, and would even pitch in and entertain the twins (or at least try to keep them out of mischief, as much as was possible for a pair of two-year-olds); Percy, of course, never gave her any trouble. Ron himself seemed to accept it as his due, and she often felt a pang of guilt that her attention was the only thing he'd never have to compete for with his brothers.


	7. 1981

**1981 - Ginny**

After having boys, Ginevra turned out to be a very welcome surprise. There hadn't been a girl in the Weasley family in several generations, so it was only natural to expect more of the family to turn up for Christmas than had been usual for the past few years. If some of the extra-celebratory air was due in part to the end of the war with the so-called Dark Lord and his followers, no one was crass enough to make any mention of it.

Still, after tucking the last of her children into bed on that Christmas night, Molly couldn't help but think of that poor boy who had lost his parents and saved them all, and her heart went out to that unknown child as she wondered what his holidays would be like without his family. She hoped that he was well-cared for, and hoped there would come a time when she would be able to help make things brighter for him.

**Fin**


End file.
